1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a gasket and washing machine having the same, which employs a laundry kicker to prevent laundry from becoming stuck in a gasket during operation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a washing machine is an apparatus which uses detergent and an applied mechanical energy to remove dirt attached to laundry. A tub is provided to hold water and detergent, and laundry is placed in a drum for accommodating the laundry mixed with the water and detergent. The drum, which is installed within the tub, is rotated inside the tub by the drive force of a motor to perform washing, rinsing, and dewatering.
Meanwhile, drum-type washing machines, in which the drum and tub are disposed horizontally, tend to avoid damaging and raveling the laundry and consume less water while achieving a washing effect of beating and rubbing. A general drum-type washing machine is shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, a cabinet 10 forms an exterior of the washing machine and has a forward opening 14, formed in a front panel 13 of the cabinet, for loading and retrieving laundry via a door 11. A tub 20, suspended within the cabinet 10, has an entrance 21 for communicating with the forward opening 14 of the front panel 13. A drum 30, rotatably installed within the tub and provided with a multitude of perforations 32 to let water pass from the tub to the drum, has a cylindrical shape with an entrance 33 at its front end to communicate with the tub entrance 21. Thus, the forward opening 14, tub entrance 21, and drum entrance 33 compose a laundry opening through which laundry can be loaded into and retrieved from the drum 30. To wash a load of laundry, washing water is supplied to the tub 20, which is then drained using a drain pump 23 and drain hose 24 installed under the tub.
A rotating means 40, such as an induction or BLDC motor for rotating the drum 30 and including a rotational shaft 41 centrally coupled to the rear of the drum, is installed behind the tub 20 and rotates the drum forward and reversely according to the motor's rotational direction. At least one lifter 31 is provided to an inner wall of the drum 30 to assist the washing action by repeatedly lifting the laundry to a predetermined height as the drum is rotated and then allowing the lifted laundry to fall from the predetermined height.
As the drum 30 rotates within the tub 20 under the drive force of the rotating means 40, the drum and tub assembly vibrates. To attenuate the vibration, the tub 20 is supported by an elastic means, including a spring 25 disposed above the tub and a damper 26 disposed below the tub.
A gasket 50 having an essentially annular shape is provided between the cabinet 10 and the tub 20 for preventing water leakage while the door 11 is closed. To achieve leakage prevention, the gasket 50 includes a front rim coupled to the front panel 13 of the cabinet 10 and a rear rim coupled to the entrance 21 of the tub 20, to thereby close a gap existing between the cabinet and tub. Meanwhile, when operating the drum-type washing machine, vibration appearing in the tub 20 may be transferred to the cabinet 10, specifically, to the front panel 13. Therefore, the gasket 50 also serves to compensate for movement in the tub 20 caused by the rotation of the drum 30 and to prevent a transfer of the resulting vibration. To achieve vibration prevention, the gasket 50 includes a shock absorber 51 having an annular shape corresponding to that of the gasket, in which a bent portion is formed between the front and rear rims of the gasket by shaping an excess length of the gasket material into a U-shaped bend.
The gasket 50 also serves to prevent laundry and foreign matter from entering or becoming lodged in a space 33a, the entrance to which is located between the tub entrance 21 and the drum entrance 33. Therefore, an annular lip 52, protruding inwardly from a rearward inner wall of the gasket 50, is provided.
In a drum-type washing machine having the gasket 50 according to the related art, laundry tends to become stuck or wedged between the annular lip 52 and the drum 30 while the drum is driven, which damages both the laundry and the gasket. In addition, as the drum 30 continues to be driven, the motor 40 becomes overloaded, which generates undue noise levels and excessive vibration. Moreover, if the motor 40 continues to be driven in this manner, the washing machine is stressed, which diminishes its operational lifetime.